I want chickens! Am I crazy!?

I'm just moving into our new house in Boulder Colorado, I plan on turning the yard into a veggie garden, and for some reason I want 2-3 chickens for eggs. I have 4 mini size dogs, but I'm sure they would be scared of chickens, is this going to be a silly idea, husband thinks I'm bonkers. I have a very agricultural background, but have never payed much attention to the chickens! I'm also wondering if they will dig up my veg?

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If you don't watch them they will *scratch* up your veggies plants...especially young seedlings. I let my *girls* out of their large chicken yard when I'm working out in the garden...I can keep an eye on them...they're pretty ez to keep out of places I don't want them. They enjoy the garden as much as I do.

Hey Tabitha! Chickens are GREAT! I highly recommend them. Both my lab and my tom cat leave our flock alone for the most part, and chickens are awesome pets. They produce delicious, fresh eggs, provide fertilizer for your garden, and are fun to watch - especially if they can wander "free range".

They are a bit of work in the beginning...but totally worth it. Check out the book "Chick Days" for lots of info. for beginners.

Chickens are the most fun of all my animals. Even if they did not lay eggs we would just have them for the whimsy they provide. But they do lay, very nicely. Easy to care for and all of our other critters seem to like them too. Our dogs are a whippet and terrier and elderly cat. They all get along. We pretty much let them do what they want, we do lock them up at night and any time we are not around the farm to check on them, we couldn't bare to lose one!

I don't live on a busy road and my chickens will cross the road if I don't watch them when I let them out of their run. I don't know what is so facinating about the other side of the road but, they have been pretty consistent.

This past spring I got 3 more chicks from Agway. One of them has turned out to be a rooster. I want to get my 2 younger girls into the big coop with my 3 bigger girls, who are 2 yrs old. The big girls REALLY don't like the little girls at all and the little ones are terrified of the big girls. Does anyone know how to SAFELY combine the 2 flocks. I'm keeping the rooster in the little coop by himself b/c I don't want any babies. Maybe in the spring if I can get rid of most of them. I am worried that I'll end up with more roosters. We live in a residential area and I don't want to be a nuisance to my neighbors so, I'm not liking having even one rooster! Anybody with some experience on this subject, I would greatly appreciate it.

I don't have a coop or hens yet, but my daughter does. Oly Organics. You might ask her. I do know that when I lived in Chicago I went to Harrison's Poultry in glenview, IL> for all of my poultry. We loved Capon, which is a castrated Rooster. Just an idea. :)

I've found that the best way to integrate chickens is to allow them to see each other but keep them separated. We have a larger coop so we have a smaller enclosed box where injured chickens or new chickens go into. Both sides are able to see the other while not being able to get to each other. This allows them to get used to each other.

If you just have a smaller coop for the chickens, I suggest allowing the new chickens to move around OUTSIDE the coop. This will allow the older chickens to see the others from the inside - same effect. Do this for about a week. Then put the chickens in together, supervised. If they still don't take to each other, repeat the process for a day or 2 more and try again.